Measurement of streptococcal cell wall in tissues of rats resistant or susceptible to cell wall-induced chronic erosive arthritis

Abstract

The quantity of streptococcal cell wall localized in the joints of rats of strains which are either susceptible (Sprague-Dawley, LEW/N, M520/N) or resistant (Buffalo, WKY/N, F344/N) to cell wall-induced chronic erosive arthritis was measured after intraperitoneal injection of group A streptococcal cell wall fragments. Susceptibility or resistance was not associated with a difference in the amount of cell wall localized in limbs or other tissues. It is concluded that although localization of cell wall in joint tissue is essential for development of arthritis, the relative resistance of certain rat strains reflects genetic regulation of inflammatory response rather than a quantitative difference in localization of cell wall in joints.Systemic injection of rats with an aqueous suspension of cell wall fragments derived from group A streptococci and other bacterial species induces an acute inflammatory arthritis which recedes and is then followed by a waxing and waning course that ultimately progresses to destructive erosive synovitis (2,3,6,8). Outbred Sprague-Dawley and certain inbred strains, including LEW/N and M5201N, are highly susceptible, whereas other strains including Buffalo, WKY/N, and F344/N are relatively resistant to the destructive erosive disease (1, 6-8). Analysis of the genetic control has shown that susceptibility is polygenic. The present study was designed to determine if susceptibility or resistance to chronic erosive arthritis is related to the quantity of cell wall that localizes in joint tissue.Female rats were obtained from the following sources: inbred Buffalo, Simonsen Laboratories, Bilroy, Calif.; outbred Sprague-Dawley, Zivic-Miller, Allison Park, Pa.; LEW/N, M520/N, WKY/N, and F344/N, Small Animal Section, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md. They weighed 100 to 120 g at the time of injection.Purified cell walls were isolated from group A streptococci as previously described (5). Briefly, streptococci were grown in Todd-Hewitt broth (BBL Microbiology Systems Cockeysville, Md.), harvested and washed in phosphate-buffered saline (pH 7.4), and disrupted in a Braun MSK shaker (Bronwill Scientific Inc., Rochester, N.Y.). Intact cells were removed by repeated centrifugation at 2,000 x g for 30 min, and the cell walls were collected by pelleting at 10,000 x g for 30 min. After repeated washing, treatment with proteases and RNase, and extraction with methylchloroform, the purified cell walls were washed with water, dialyzed against water, and lyophilized. In the experiment described in Table 1, the cell walls were extracted with 4% sodium dodecyl sulfate instead of methylchloroform (8). Cell wall fragments were prepared for injection by sonication of cell wall suspended in phosphate-buffered saline (20 mg/ml) for 70 min in a Branson sonifier (Branson Sonic Power Co., Danbury, Conn.). The sonicated cell wall was filtered through a Millipore 0.45-,um-pore-size filter before injection. The scor-* Corresponding author.ing method for clinical evaluation of arthritis has been described previ...

Strain differences in sensitivity of rats to Mycoplasma arthritidis ISR 1 infection are under multiple gene control

“…LEW rats appear to be more sensitive to this type of disease than other rat strains. For example, LEW rats are more susceptible than BN rats to collagen II-inducible arthritis (16,17,25); react more strongly than BUF, WKY, and F344 rats to the inoculation of streptococcal cell walls (3,23,24,27); and are much more sensitive than F344 rats to infection with Mycoplasma pulmonis (13). Our investigations with M. arthritidis infections show the same results: BUF, WKY, and F344 rats were more resistant than LEW rats.…”

“…Multiple-gene control was also observed for the responses of rats to collagen II (16,17) and streptococcal cell walls (3,29), as well as for the reactivity of rat lymphocytes to MAS (6). In contrast, in mice, toxicity, death (10), and ulcerative dermal coagulation necrosis (7) induced by M. arthritidis, as well as the mitogenic response of the lymphocytes to MAS (4,5,8), are associated with the haplotype expressed at the H-2 complex.…”

Peptidoglycan fragments decrease food intake and body weight gain in rats

“…PG is hypophagic in both F344 and Lewis rats. The F344 rat strain has been shown to be relatively resistant to PG-induced arthritis in an in vivo model in comparison with the Lewis rat strain (1,55). Further, thioglycolate-elicited peritoneal macrophages from F344 rats produce significantly less IL-1 in vitro than do peritoneal macrophages from Lewis rats when stimulated by PG (37).…”

Induction of arthritis in rats by soluble peptidoglycan‐polysaccharide complexes produced by human intestinal flora

“…In the adjuvantinduced arthritis model, first described by Pearson Streptococcus pyogenes in aqueous solution. In both models, translocation of bacterial material to the joint has been described (18,19). In our studies showing the arthritogenic properties of cell wall fragments from Eubacterium aerofaciens and Bijidobacterium adolescentis, major components of human intestinal flora, we used the streptococcal cell wall-induced arthritis model (6,7).…”